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Olivet Bible Church Encourages Leadership, Youth Development

Senior Pastor, Olivet Bible Church, Owen Nlekwuwa,

Owen Nlekwuwasays building people is at the heart of true worship!

He is a senior pastor at the Olivet Bible Church in
Festac Town, Lagos.

Much as he loves the practice of architecture, a
discipline in which he was trained, Nlekwuwabelieves that, “ the people must be built first before we worry about
the physical structures.” But sure, as an architect, putting the worship tent
in good shape never stops being his concern too!

In this regard, the Olivet Academy, initiated by him
has been a life-transforming platform where people are groomed to become
confident enough to start small businesses rather than wait for white-collar
jobs that may never come.“We have
trained and encouraged the youths to plant a tree today (start a business) and
nurture it.

Pastor Nlekwuwa’sworriesare not far from the fact
that in time past beinga college
graduate guaranteed young people jobs. “Graduating from college is no longer a guarantee
that you get a job and this is not what it used to be.”

For the purpose of a better future, Nlekwuwa advocates
that every youth should be guided through a creative path even before
graduation. He says, “The schooling period is actually a better time for the
youth to learn the importance of owning a business before leaving the
university.”

Considering the people-oriented structures that the
Church has built over time, the pastor says there is so much to celebrate about
at the church’s annual thanksgiving celebration which comes up on Dec. 8.

“We have seen so many victories and progress in lives
of individuals. Indeed, hard grounds have been broken and we remain thankful to
God.”

He however wants churches under the Christian
Association of Nigeria(CAN)to do more
of people- centredprogrammes. “Besides
protecting the interest of Christians, CAN should also encourage the Churches to take
keen interest in developing people, especially the youth.”

According to the pastor, for 2014,
the emphasis would be to encourage people to look beyond self and emphasised
the need for proper management of issues in the middle-east. “Any mismanagement
of issues in the middle-east will trigger off problems,” he said.

He is however hopeful that
continuous advocacy will help re-orientate young people concerning job creation
and a sustained economic empowerment.

“Entrepreneurship is the way to go
and the youth will benefit from that orientation than dreaming of roaming the
streets in endless search for jobs.”